Paul is apparently spending serious money on direct mail in South Carolina.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) - Ron Paul and his grassroots supporters may dominate the Internet, but in South Carolina, the Texas congressman is pretty close to dominating the snail mail game as well.

Well-funded former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has dropped at least seven mail pieces as counted by CNN, seems to have sent out more direct mail than any other candidate in this early primary state. But in recent weeks the Paul campaign has sent out at least five very large, very polished pieces of mail to potential GOP primary voters.

One of them is a 12-page mailer, already released in New Hampshire, that folds out to be nearly three feet long.

All of the South Carolina mailings go straight for the jugular on issues important to the Republican base: abortion, illegal immigration, social security, and fiscal responsibility. (Paul's mail also delves into the libertarian's favorite topic – defending the Constitution.)

His abortion mailer features a large photo of a smiling baby and reads: "Dr. Ron Paul is more than pro-life. He is the essence of all that it stands for." The illegal immigration brochure pledges "to end immigration nonsense" and fight "amnesty." His economy mailer touts his record fighting "the tax and spend crowd" in Washington.

But the detailed, fold-out mailings seem to carefully avoid the one position that truly puts him at odds with his Republican rivals: his repeated calls to immediately remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq.

The 12-page Paul mailer promises "protection and peace without nation building" but avoids any reference to Iraq, hinting that the campaign—at least in paid media—may be reluctant to bring up the congressman’s stance on Iraq in a state where support for the war remains relatively strong.

soundoff(84 Responses)

Ron Paul is honest and has integrity. Something ALL the other candidates, Dems & Reps, lack. He leads. People listen to his message and support him. He doesn't change his message to attract voters like the rest do.

I think you all have forgotten something: We already won the war in Iraq! Don't you all remember President Bush on the fricken ship and all the celibrating the wars end in what was it... 2003!! Saddam Hussein is Dead! War over!! If all were doing over there is nation building let the Iraqis build their own nation!! We had too in 1776 and Ron Paul is the only one who knows that the best.

If you think we need to stay in Iraq killing and being killed for God only know how long while our very own country go's down the stinkin tubes...then YOUR the wacko! Get up and ride on BUSH because you and him are inbreed cousins!

He stands firmly in his belief that we should worry about our country first and for that i support his courages attempt to run, but the fact of the matter is, can he assure the American people that he means business and back his word. Many believe he can but i rather just let the polls do the talking.

With the Fairtax you would be treated just like everyone else. The prices of goods are not going to go up. Most people don't understand this or lie about it. So you are not going to pay more for items. Your benefits you receive and the interest from your savings, etc will not be taxed. Therefore you will have more money to spend every month. You will also receive what is known as the prebate. It is based on how many people are in your household. For instance if it is just you and your wife then you would receive X number of dollars to cover the tax on the basic necessities, ie, food, clothing, etc. Larger families would obviously receive larger paychecks.

If you are just making ends meet and you only spend on the things you have to get by with you will come out better.

Keep in mind though that we are all still paying taxes. It is just collected in a much more efficient manner that encourages savings. All of the govt. handout programs would still continue running as normal. It would still be up to the people to keep congress from overspending and adding pork to their bills. Good Luck – visit http://www.fairtax.com

Mike Cobb:
"Goldwater conservation, Barry was pro-choice, pro-gay rights, a fiscal conservative, an anti-imperialist, a conservationist, and a protector of individual liberty."

When Goldwater was a leading national figure in 64' ... gay rights and abortion weren't even issues in America
as for "anti-imperialist" he was for bringing the fight to North Vietnam and escalating the war even more than Johnson did

I like Goldwater too but to assume his position on issues when he was running for President they way you did is flat out ignorant of history

Every state Paul spends money in he goes up two-fold or more in the poll numbers.

He already has a large base of supporters. But by bypassing the main stream media that ignores Paul, and by sending out mailers and advertising on TV and radio he can reach millions of voters just waiting for the message Paul delivers.

CNN has really started to dissappoint me in recent months. First, right after the most recent senatorial race, there was the correspondant who commented on Tennessee's election of Bob Corker "I guess Tennesee wasn't ready for a black senator". Harold Ford, Jr.'s race had nothing to do with him loosing. I don't live in Tennesee, but live close enough to where I was glued to this past election. So, I didn't vote for either candidate.
Now, they are just smearing Ron Paul. First of all, Paul may have libertarian bents, but he IS a REPUBLICAN. As he pointed last night in the debate, he has won on the Republican ticket in Texas for 10 terms.
Secondly, anyone can google Ron Paul and discover that he is all for getting the troops out of Iraq. The "protection and peace without nation bulding" line points to this. It does not say it explicitly, but it's not like he hides his feelings on the war in Iraq. I would hope that people don't make a decision just based on one or two pieces of mail. I would hope that the mail would push them to research that candidate.
Please do fair reporting, CNN. This is starting to make me sick.

Surrealist wrote, "No matter how right you are on the War in Iraq–we've already committed too life/blood to thanks to Bush to walk away from it–we must achieve "some kind of lasting results" to justify the blood spilled in the streets of Iraq."

Won't you just love your doctor telling you that he made the wrong diagnosis, but "we've already spent too much money on the treatment, so we'll just have to continue?" In doing so he bankrupts your estate and burdens your children with debt, which destroys their American dreams. Ron Paul receives more money from the military than any other candidate. The troops want to come home.

Ron Paul made the right diagnosis from day one. Not because he is a smart doctor, but because he followed the Constitution and the advice of the Founding Fathers. George Bush followed the advice of the military-industrial complex. “Surrealist,” I think not long now and you will change your name to “Realist.”

Sorry, my fellow Paul supporters, but Mr. Hamby is correct in pointing out that the mailers don't mention Iraq. Either they do or they don't, and they don't, so reporting on that IS just that – reporting. Lay off and focus your attention on the ignorant masses who still believe the Dr. is racist.

After watching Hubert Humphrey and Richard Daly stand on the stage at the 1968 Democratic Convention and laugh at the live footage of the beatings by the police of anyone who happened to be in the Chicago streets, I voted in my first presidential election for Richard Nixon, since I couldn’t support George Wallace. As a Vietnam veteran, I never regretted anything more. I was not then nor am I now a Republican. My political opinions have changed over the years, and I have become a Libertarian. Right now I think that the only believable people in this campaign are Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul, two people that have a vast difference in their beliefs regarding the functions of government, but both have consistently opposed all the Iraq resolutions and bills from the very beginning, and both seem to be very aware that we need major changes in our government, not just another administration that will do the same old things. Unfortunately, the mainstream media which have a massive influence on the views of most Americans aren’t interested in either candidate. Since I’m from Pennsylvania, I will have no say in the primaries because everything will be long decided before we vote in April. But I’ll support Ron Paul for President. If he is not the Republican choice, I will write him in during the general election and may very well write in Dennis Kucinich as Vice President. I twice voted for Ross Perot and wonder where he has gone. It would be very novel to have an administration that could include people who actually understand economics such as Paul, Kucinich, Perot and Ralph Nader. It would certainly be a very unusual mix of personalities, but this is the sort of drastic change that is required in my opinion. Call me crazy if you like…..

2 WRONGS DO NOT MAKE A RIGHT, TAKES A MAN TO STAND UP LIKE RON PAUL AND TELL THE HONEST TRUTH TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAN TO KILL MORE AMERICANS JUST TO PROVE A POINT.( THANK GOD YOU ARE NOT RUNNING ) ITS ALL ABOUT THE WIN FOR YOU & TO SUPPORT A CORRUPT SYSTEM !
YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED, TURN THAT COMPUTER OFF RIGHT NOW. ENROLL YOURSELF IN HISTORY CLASS!!

Finally a moderately fair piece on Ron Paul. Too bad you ruined it with that last line about avoiding his stance on Iraq. However, you're doing better CNN. Keep it up and I might not think you completely biased against the "second-tier" candidates.

Ron Paul is a true "up and comer" with a growing following. I could support him if only he'd come out strongly in support of the FAIR TAX. It's very apparent that the citizens of the USA are tired of the old guard. It's time for true conservative/constitutional governance

Posted By Ross Hudson, Daytona Beach, FL : November 29, 2007 4:34 pm

Hey Ross, Ron Paul supports the fairest tax of all: 0! Nothing! By bringing the troops home, not just from Iraq but from dozens of countries all over the world where they have no business being, the US would save billions of dollars and get us back to the spending levels 6 years ago. Ending the war and stopping this empire from expanding will bring more dollars back to the US, and allow us to spend more on domestic issues and not tax the people. Abolishing the IRS and its huge bureaucracy, along with the Dept. of Homeland Security and plenty of other bloated government agencies will save even MORE money. The income tax isn't necessary if we don't spend money like it's water and then print money out of thin air! So you see, Dr. Paul supports a much fairer system than even the FairTax, fair for US citizens and for the foreign countries which we invade and maintain a military presence to this day.

This is merely another revelation of the dwindling credibility of the MSM. They can't control how we spend our money, which is why Ron Paul already has over $9.8 million for the 4thQuarter, and another month still to go.

So, if Dr. Paul is so against big government and Big Brother, how come he didn't bother to vote for or against H.R. 1955. Btw, H.R. 1955 will quiet any type of revolution (peaceful or otherwise) in the United States of America forever. Google H.R. 1955 if you don’t believe me.

How to setup a dictatorship

The following steps have been used by every despot since (at least) Mussolini:

Nothing is more infuriating than the conventional media's poor coverage of Ron Paul. They seem to mock him or ignore him – as though they are afraid that if they displayed him in a serious light that his already skyrocketing campaign will eclipse all other candidates.

Ron Paul is a isolationist that wants to stick his head in the sand and pretend that challenges from enemies overseas are not to be addressed. The present administration has made many mistakes, as in any war, but at least he is willing to throw down the gauntlet and stare islamofacism in the eye. Ignoring a problem doesn't make it dissappear.

They call us "neocons"....I think this is supposed to be insulting....yet....it hardly describes all Republicans...while Hillary supporters...and their entitlist loving ways....seem to fit when we call them either "Marxists" or "Socialists" – loving that big government...because you are entitled..and don't let anyone tell you different!!